VICTORIA — The heads of B.C.’s six health authorities have lashed out against an effort by Premier Christy Clark’s B.C. Liberal government to secure a 10-year deal with the province’s nurses, saying talks have been taking place behind their backs and without their consent.

In a Feb. 20 letter obtained by The Vancouver Sun, the health authority presidents say they are concerned an extended agreement of up to 10 years could saddle the system with significant costs, and restrict the ability for health authorities to manage the system, all at a time when government is moving to rein in health care funding.

The presidents further insist that the organization that negotiates on behalf of the health authorities and other health sector employers — the Health Employers Association of B.C. (HEABC) — immediately cease negotiations.

“We insist that HEABC, without having engaged in the full consultation process contemplated by the Constitution and By Laws of the Association, not participate in any negotiations to achieve such an agreement,” the presidents said in a letter to HEABC’s board chair, as well as to the organization’s president and CEO.

The health authority presidents, whose organizations would have to ratify any labour agreements, go on to say they believe HEABC “has no authority to participate in the resolution of such an agreement” without properly consulting.

The extraordinary letter comes less than a month after Clark’s government released its proposal to reach a 10-year agreement with the province’s teachers. Upon its release, the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation immediately dismissed that plan as “ludicrous.”

On Monday, Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid said there have been “informal discussions” between government, the HEABC and nurses on a possible long-term deal, but said that nothing official has yet to take place.

“If there were to be formal negotiations, which we don’t know at this point, there never could be an agreement without the support of the health employers,” she said, adding government has not set a specific 10-year goal, but instead is looking to see if nurses would be interested in a longer-term agreement.

MacDiarmid added that government has spoken with health authority presidents since the letter was sent to assure them the talks are in the very early stages.

Vancouver Coastal Health president Dr. David Ostrow and Fraser Health Authority president Dr. Nigel Murray were both unavailable for comment Monday afternoon.

Nurses recently ratified a two-year collective agreement, which included a stipulation to add 2,125 full-time nurses to the health care system over the next four years. That agreement expires March 31, 2014.

B.C. Nurses’ Union president Debra McPherson said her union is right now in negotiations “to clean up some of the stuff related to our last bargaining,“ but said that a 10-year agreement is not under discussion.

But, she said, the union would be amenable to discussions about a longer-term extension.

“During bargaining we had said, right from the outset, that we wanted a four-year agreement ideally, depending what was on the table,” she said.

“It didn’t materialize, so we would be open to looking at an extension should that discussion break out, assuming that it would be something that would be worthwhile for our members.”

New Democratic Party labour critic Shane Simpson said he thinks the backroom negotiations are an attempt by government to score a win ahead of the coming election.

“It’s not good labour relations practice to try to cut a 10-year deal when you’ve left the employers essentially out of the loop,” he said.

“The problem here, of course, is we have no idea of what’s actually in this agreement in terms of the money or the other conditions or who’s covered by it,” he added, wondering what goodies the government would be willing to surrender for a good-news story.

That concern was shared by health authority presidents, who asked in their letter exactly how wages and other issues would be set.

“We do not know whether any reopeners would be tied to compensation benchmarks, which are in conflict within the restrictions imposed on spending in health care, or which would not permit the recruitment and retention of nurses,” they wrote.

“Nor do we know who would fund the increases,” they added.

The presidents also expressed concern that the move might be part of a larger push by the B.C. Nurses’ Union to have Licensed Practical Nurses — who, after a years-long battle, last year left the Hospital Employees’ Union to join the BCNU — integrated into the nurses’ bargaining unit, a fact that might lead to an automatic increase for LPNs.

On Monday, MacDiarmid said she believes a push by the BCNU for legislation to reclassify the LPNs was part of what precipitated the informal talks on a long-term deal.

“The BCNU approached us to talk to us about legislative amendments and it may be that when those conversation began to happen that this started to be discussed as well,” she said.

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Health authorities slam B.C. government over talks with nurses about long-term deal

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